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Topic: Africa

Chapter book
A beautiful, heartwarming story set in Africa about a young boy and his yearning for a pet dog. From internationally bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. Timo and his mother do not have much money – in fact, they have almost none. But that does not matter too much, because Timo has his mother and she has him. They have their little house. They have friends and neighbours. They have the world about them. All of that can be enough for happiness. There is one more thing, though, that Timo would like to have …A dog! High quality cream paper and a special easy-to-read font ensure a smooth read for all.
Chapter book

Jimi dreams of playing in the all-white kit of the Lions of Senegal but he can’t see how his dream will ever come true. Even though he is the best footballer in the region, the bigger boys never let him play with them. But can he change their minds? With huge support from his family, Jimi finds that there is nothing that he can’t achieve!Interwoven with lots of facts about the history of African football and African-born footballing superstars such as Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto, Patrick Viera and Yaya Toure, this book is ideal to engage reluctant reading football fans. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+.

Chapter book

Three delightful stories about Too Small Tola, a young girl who, though small, is very determined. Tola lives in a flat in Lagos with her sister, Moji, who is very clever; her brother, Dapo, who is very fast; and Grandmummy, who is very bossy. Tola proves to be stronger than she seems when she goes to market with Grandmummy and manages to carry home a basket full of yams and vegetables, chilli peppers and fish. When the taps in the flat don’t work, it’s Tola who brings water from the well, and it’s Tola who saves the day when Mr Abdul, the tailor, needs his goods to be delivered quickly. Too Small Tola is a wonderful new character in the world of children’s books by multi-award-winning children’s writer and storyteller Atinuke.

Picturebook

Oluwalase Babatunde Benson is No. 1. He’s the No. 1 car spotter in his village. The No. 1 car spotter in the world!

The start of an exciting new series about the irresistible No. 1, whose hobby is car spotting but who is good at solving all sorts of problems for his village.

When the family’s cart breaks down and there’s no way of bringing goods to market, it’s No. 1 who devises the Toyota Cow-rolla and saves the day. He runs errands for his family and helps Mama Coca-Cola feed the busloads of people who stop for her delicious fried akara. No. 1 even helps Grandmother get to the medical centre when she can’t afford treatment.

No. 1 is bright and plucky and resourceful – a fantastic new character in what will undoubtedly prove to be a brilliant series!

Picturebook

“When Papa lifts me onto his shoulders I can see the whole world.”

One little boy in South Africa has just started school. When Mama takes him, they hurry along – but there’s always time for a kiss at the school gate. When Gogo takes him they go slow and feed the hungry cat on the way. When it’s Tata’s turn they walk through the park and splash in puddles. But the best days of all are when Papa takes him to school, lifts him high on his shoulders and tells him, “I love you.”

A heart-warming celebration of family and fathers, with beautiful, atmospheric paintings portraying the everyday life of a loving extended family.

Picturebook

A beautiful picture book about the ways in which animals sleep in the Serengeti, written by award-winning author Clare Helen Welsh and illustrated by the winner of the 2019 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Jenny Lovlie.

On the dry, grassy plains of the Serengeti, a little mongoose makes his way home to his burrow. On his way, the mongoose passes giraffes, zebras, monkeys, elephants, storks, lizards, butterflies and cheetahs, all sleeping in their own unique ways.

A stunning, lyrical and reassuring bedtime story, perfect for young animal lovers, with non-fiction facts at the end.

Every Nosy Crow paperback picture book comes with a free ‘Stories Aloud’ audio recording – just scan the QR code and listen along!

Africa Topic Booklist

Africa is a large and diverse continent with over a billion people including thousands of different cultural groups and indigenous languages. From stretches of desert and mighty mountains to impressive waterfalls and wonderful wildlife, the geography of Africa offers much to explore, as does the history of its people from ancient times to the rich diversity of its modern population. We’ve put together a list of the best children’s books to help young explorers studying the topic of Africa…

Picturebook

This award-winning picture book tells with spare, elegant prose and poignant illustrations how Lila saves her Kenyan village by telling the sky the saddest thing she knows.

For months the sun has burned down on Lila’s village. It is too hot to gather firewood, or weed the garden. It is even too hot to milk the cow. Without rain the well will run dry and the crops will fail. Lila is so worried that when her grandfather whispers the secret of rain to her, she sets off to talk to the sky herself.

Non-fiction

A first, personal introduction to the Africa continent for young children aged 4+ from Nigerian storyteller Atinuke.

Africa, Amazing Africa is Atinuke’s first introduction to the African continent – an exciting starting point for young children aged 4+. With double-pages to introduce the different regions of Africa (South, East, West, Central and North), each country in Africa is then represented on one page with a colourful half-page illustration from artist Mouni Feddag, a paragraph of descriptive text and then one to three facts, geared towards readers aged four and up; imagined as a diving-off point, to give a sense of the variety of the continent and inspire young readers to find out more about each country.

Picturebook

From breakfast to dinner, dusk to dawn, children will love spending the day with this curious lion cub.

Now in paperback, this is the first in the acclaimed series of children’s books focused on the way our young animal friends spend a day. Minding his mother and playing with his father, this curious little lion cub can’t help chasing trouble and fun as he explores his corner of our big, blue planet.

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